


the student and the model

by InterstellarBlue (nagi_schwarz)



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, M/M, Stealth Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:01:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21964681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/InterstellarBlue
Summary: Set afterthe elf and the prince, shift manager Jinwoo stays late to help a handsome customer wrap a lot of presents.Featuring cameos from other bands, A Christmas Carol, and an oblivious boy being oblivious.
Relationships: Lee Dongmin | Cha Eunwoo/Park Jinwoo | Jin Jin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 48
Collections: K-pop and K-drama AUs





	the student and the model

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WannaBeYourEunwoo (SherlockianSyndromes)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockianSyndromes/gifts).
  * Inspired by [the elf and the prince](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21912697) by [WannaBeYourEunwoo (SherlockianSyndromes)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockianSyndromes/pseuds/WannaBeYourEunwoo). 



> Merry Christmas, darling!

Jinwoo watched MJ depart for his date with Park Minhyuk, the darling of the National Ballet, and was a little bit jealous. Not because he had a crush on Minhyuk - he’d admit the boy was beautiful - but because, well, MJ had a date. On Christmas Eve. What was Jinwoo doing on Christmas Eve? He was working late. Sanha’s family was Christian, so Christmas was a big holiday for them, and he was taking tomorrow off. Jinwoo, as a manager, had to work on Christmas Day. His family wasn’t much for Christmas besides a simple gift exchange, and his parents had planned to go visit his brother, who was studying abroad.

The store had been silent in the fifteen minutes since MJ’s departure, so Jinwoo made an executive decision. “Sanha, you can go home now.”

Sanha had been leaning against the checkout stand and playing a game on his phone anyway. He perked up. “Thanks, Hyung!” He pocketed his phone and started for the Employees Only door.

And then the buzzer sounded and someone stepped into the store with a mountain of presents in their arms, so many presents that Jinwoo couldn’t see their face.

“Pardon me,” the customer said. “I’m very sorry to come so late, but - I need these presents wrapped.”

Sanha looked dismayed.

Jinwoo hurried over to the customer. “Welcome! And no need to apologize. We’re here to help. Let me take some of these for you.”

The young man levered some of the boxes into Jinwoo’s arms - and Jinwoo stared.

Because the man was incredibly handsome. Like - fairy tale handsome, all pale skin and bright eyes and a soft pink mouth, perfectly glossy black hair and high cheekbones.

Then Jinwoo remembered he was on the job and said, “The gift-wrap table is over here.”

He carried the presents over to the desk and set them down carefully.

“Hyung?” Sanha asked, eyeing the customer, who looked quite frazzled despite his perfectly stylish GQ appearance.

He was wearing a long black wool coat over a three-piece suit. He looked like a million dollars. He also looked vaguely familiar. He was probably a model. Jinwoo had probably seen him on an advertisement somewhere one time.

“You can go,” Jinwoo said to Sanha.

“Are you sure? That’s a lot of presents,” Sanha said quietly.

“I’m sure. Your family’s waiting. Mine’s not.”

Sanha eyed the boy one more time. Then he whispered, “Remember, no flirting.”

Jinwoo glared at him. “Yah!” he hissed.

Sanha actually giggled. He fluttered his fingers in farewell and took off his nametag, headed for the employee door. “Good night, Manager-nim! See you in a couple of days!”

“Have a Merry Christmas,” Jinwoo called after him.

Then he turned and smiled at the customer, who was pink-cheeked and smiling ruefully.

“I’m sorry to be such a burden,” he said. “It’s just - today was the first chance I had to go shopping, and -”

Jinwoo waved a hand. “Really, it’s no bother. How complicated do you want things - just paper, paper plus ribbons, or paper plus ribbons and name tags?”

“Everything. Cost is no object,” the customer said. He glanced at his watch, which Jinwoo recognized as a very expensive one. That was it. He’d been in an ad for fancy watches. He  _ was _ a model.

“Are you taking these to a party or something? How fast do you need this done?” Jinwoo asked.

“Not too fast, honestly,” the customer said, “but I’m sure you want to go home to your family as soon as possible.”

“My family’s out of town, so I’m in no rush. I’ll work hard for you.” Jinwoo picked up the first box - a set of Legos - and said, “Which kind of paper would you like this wrapped in?”

The customer considered. He pointed to some silver and blue wrapping, and Jinwoo set to work. Because he was feeling a bit ambitious, he put in some extra folds to make the package look prettier. He made sure to curl the ribbon carefully, and then he selected a nametag that matched the paper. 

“Who is this for?” Jinwoo poised his pen to write.

The customer fished his cellphone out of his pocket, removed his sleek black leather gloves, and swiped to unlock his phone. He had graceful, long-fingered, pale hands, like a musician.

“Baekhyeon.”

Jinwoo wrote very neatly. “And who is it from?” This was his chance to learn the very handsome man’s name.

“Santa Claus.”

Fortunately Jinwoo had done well in English class at school and could spell it. Unfortunately, Jinwoo didn’t know the customer’s name still.

Once the package was complete, Jinwoo set it aside, then started on the next one, which was some kind of terrifying vampire barbie-esque doll in an outfit of questionable taste.

The customer selected paper and a ribbon, and Jinwoo set to work. This present was for Mari, also from Santa Claus.

To expedite things, the customer lined up all the available rolls of wrapping paper on the desk, and then he made small stacks of gifts beside each roll, so Jinwoo knew which gifts should be wrapped in what. It was kind of endearing, to see the look of concentration on the man’s face as he chose whose gifts should be wrapped with what. 

He had an entire list of names on his phone, and Jinwoo did his best to spell them all properly. Over the customer’s shoulder, Jinwoo could see that the rest of the shopping mall was mostly dark, other stores shutting down for the night.

“Are you  _ actually _ Santa Claus?” Jinwoo asked. “Because this is a whole lot of presents for a whole lot of children. Or do you just have a really big family?”

He’d wrapped thirty-two presents and still had several stacks more to go.

The customer ducked his head, blushing. “No, I’m not Santa. I just - my friend’s mother is a social worker at a state orphanage, and I know the government works hard so they can have nice Christmases, but -”

Jinwoo’s heart melted. “Oh. That’s really nice of you.”

The customer shrugged. “I wanted to do something that  _ matters, _ for once.”

Jinwoo wondered what this obviously successful, wealthy man did that he felt like what he did didn’t matter. He was too professional to ask, though. Jinwoo’s suspicion that the man was a model solidified.

Jinwoo continued to wrap the presents, using fancy wrapping techniques he usually never got to use during a big rush, partially to amuse himself, partially because he hoped it would make the orphan children smile, if only for a moment, before they ripped the paper off.

“You’re very good at what you do,” the customer said.

Jinwoo grinned at him. “I told you I’d work hard for you.” He reached for the final stack of presents and started to wrap the first box. “Who’s this for?”

The customer tucked his phone away. “Eomma.”

“Oh.” Jinwoo wrote it dutifully.

The customer raised his eyebrows. “Oh?”

“I was starting to worry that you had no family of your own,” Jinwoo said. “From Santa Claus as well?”

“Dongminnie,” he said.

Dongmin. It suited him. He was handsome but very serious and proper, sort of old-fashioned.

The next present was also for Eomma. There were two presents also for Abeoji, and two for Donghui-ya, from Hyung. There was one for Noh Manager-hyungnim, from Eunwoo-ya, and one for Jinjoo Stylist-noona, from Eunwoo-ya, and one for Song Daepyonim from Cha Eunwoo.

“Cha Eunwoo,” Jinwoo murmured to himself as he wrote the name very neatly. It was familiar. “Like...the actor? I think I heard my mother talk about him once. You must be very close to him, for him to trust you to pick presents on his behalf.”

Dongmin stared at him for a moment. Then he said, “You could say that.”

“You’re so tall,” Jinwoo said hastily, in case he’d caused offense. “I figured you’d maybe modeled together? Since actors are also often models.”

“I have modeled,” Dongmin admitted. 

“That’s so fancy. I’m just a student,” Jinwoo said. 

“I’m also a student,” Dongmin said. “The modeling helps pay for school.”

“What are you studying?”

“Acting,” Dongmin said, and he ducked his head, blushing.

“Maybe one day we’ll see each other at work,” Jinwoo said. “I’m studying photography and cinematography.”

“That would be fun,” Dongmin said. “I’ll look forward to it.”

Jinwoo finished tying the bow on the final present, and he held it out to Dongmin, who accepted it and admired it.

“Thank you for working so hard for me,” he said. He fished his wallet out of his pocket.

Jinwoo rang him up quickly - and used his employee discount, since most of the presents were for charity. Over Dongmin’s shoulder, Jinwoo could see that the mall was completely dark but for a couple of security lights.

“Do you need some help carrying these?” Jinwoo asked. “If you’re taking the bus or train I can probably put them in some sturdy bags.”

“Thankfully I have my own car.”

“Do you need help carrying these outside?” It wasn’t something Jinwoo had ever offered a customer before.

Dongmin started to shake his head, then reconsidered. “Actually, yes. I don’t want to crush all the bows.”

“I’m pretty good at stacking presents at this point,” Jinwoo said. “Are you parked close?”

Dongmin’s gaze went distant as he thought. “Yes.”

“All right.” Jinwoo scooped up one of the biggest boxes. “If we put the big ones on the bottom we can stack the smaller ones on top without smashing any of the bows.”

Dongmin nodded and picked up one of the other big boxes. “Is it all right if you leave this place alone?”

“I have a key. I can lock the door behind us. Come through the employee door - it leads right to the parking lot.” Jinwoo locked the front door, and then he let Dongmin behind the counter and through the back, past the employee lockers and the notice board decorated with candy canes and gingerbread men and covered in cheery handwritten messages from MJ and sassy messages from Sanha.

Dongmin’s car was a sleek dark sedan that looked expensive. It was one of the few cars in the parking lot, which was convenient. Jinwoo had to support the box Dongmin was holding with one hand so Dongmin could find his keys. He pressed the fancy keyfob, and the trunk opened by itself.

“That’s handy.” Jinwoo put the box in the trunk, then arranged the one Dongmin had carried in beside it.

Dongmin closed the trunk carefully, and they headed back to the employee exit.

On the way there, Jinwoo noticed Dongmin was shivering and rubbing his hands together.

“You should put your gloves back on,” he said.

Dongmin, shoulders hunched against the cold, nodded and dug his gloves out of his coat pocket. His coat looked expensive and warm. “I’m just very sensitive to cold,” he said.

“Did you bring a hat or a scarf or anything?” Jinwoo asked.

Dongmin shook his head. His teeth were chattering. “I didn’t think it would be this cold. Or that I’d be out this late.”

Jinwoo plucked off his own ridiculously bright Christmas hat and placed it on Dongmin’s head, tugged it down so it covered his ears. Then he unwound his red-and-green uniform scarf and wrapped it around Dongmin’s neck, tucking it in carefully. “There. Now you’ll be warm.”

“Thank you,” Dongmin said automatically. “But won’t you be cold?”

“I’ll be fine,” Jinwoo said. “Now come on, let’s finish loading those presents - before you freeze to death.”

It was a good thing Jinwoo had lent Dongmin his winter gear, because it took many trips back and forth to get all the presents neatly into his car. It was also more than an hour after Jinwoo should have locked up the store. On any another occasion, the main manager might have yelled at him, but Jinwoo was covering the woman’s shift on Christmas Day, so she would let it slide. If she even found out.

After the last present was safely in Dongmin’s car, they closed the trunk and the rear doors, and Dongmin climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Thank you so much, Jinwoo-ssi,” Dongmin said. “You went above and beyond.”

Jinwoo shrugged. “It’s Christmas. I hope those children and your family and coworkers enjoy their gifts.”

“I know they will.” Dongmin smiled and started the engine, pulled his door closed.

Jinwoo waved, and then he hurried back into the store, because after that long in the cold without gloves, hat, or scarf, he was pretty cold, and he could warm up while he did the final lock-up, and then he could head on home.

As he rode the bus home, he contemplated the magic of the Christmas season, of MJ being able to go on a date with the handsome customer he’d been crushing on, of Sanha being able to spend time with his entire family for the first time in six years since all of his brothers were finally finished with their service, of some orphan children receiving special gifts for Christmas. Even if he was going home to an empty apartment and an instant ramyeun dinner, he’d felt a bit of that Christmas magic, helping Dongmin bring smiles to the children’s faces.

While the bus paused at a busy stop near a metro station, Jinwoo looked out the window and saw - Dongmin. Wearing a terribly fashionable suit and looking smolderingly sexy, posing with a very expensive watch. Jinwoo had been right. He was a model. But he was also a student, like Jinwoo, and maybe feeling a bit lost in this world too.

_ I wanted to do something that  _ matters, _ for once. _

When Jinwoo got home, he would call his family and wish them happy holidays, and then he’d work tomorrow so other people could be with their families.

He ate his ramyeun and watched one of the Christmas music shows full of overworked and underpaid idols and figured he wasn’t the only one working during the holiday - all the idols themselves, plus their staff and the broadcast station staff had to work far later than he’d worked. Jinwoo felt a sense of solidarity with those strangers, like he’d felt some connection to Dongmin. They’d worked hard so other people could have good Christmases, and that mattered.

After the broadcast show, Jinwoo called his family. His mother answered. He could hear his father and brother laughing in the background. They all sounded a little drunk and distracted, so Jinwoo kept his greetings short, and after he hung up he brushed his teeth.

Then he curled up in bed with a copy of  _ A Christmas Carol, _ and he read until he fell asleep.

He dreamed about his parents treating his brother to a big meal, and Sanha playing guitar with his father and brothers, and MJ and Minhyuk kissing under a sprig of mistletoe at an afterparty.

He dreamed about a sweetly-smiling Dongmin handing presents to small children, and he dreamed about the ghosts from  _ A Christmas Carol _ .

_ “Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?” _

*

Jinwoo got to sleep in the next morning, because the store had short hours for the holiday. He had breakfast while he sipped hot cocoa and watched the snow falling softly, and then he showered and dressed in his uniform. After work he would have a feast of snack food and soju, and he would open the presents his parents had given him before they’d left, and then - 

Then life would go on. The break would end, he’d get back into the swing of things at school, and maybe one day he and Dongmin would meet on the set of a drama or movie.

Jinwoo was shivering as he darted from the front door of his apartment building to the bus stop, because he had neither hat nor scarf. He turned his collar up against the biting winter chill and was glad he had gloves. He watched the city roll past. Even though it was a holiday, the city streets were plenty busy. A few times Jinwoo got the sense that some of the other passengers were staring at him, and not just because of his bright holiday-colored uniform, but he figured he cut a bit of a pathetic figure, going to work when most people were celebrating with friends and family, whether or not they were Christian.

After Jinwoo caught yet another ahjumma staring at him, he slouched lower in his seat and ducked his chin into his collar. Bright red and bright green had never really been his colors.

At the shopping mall, he thanked the bus driver and scampered off, headed into the warmth of the building and made a beeline for his store. The mall was still empty, and Jinwoo had half an hour to get the store open and ready for business, either last-minute purchases and wrapping or returns. Kyungsoo and Joohee, the part-timers who were on the skeleton crew with Jinwoo for the holiday, showed up fifteen minutes later. Joohee fired up the cash register while Kyungsoo opened the grate and turned on the holiday playlist everyone on the staff had built, so it had songs everyone liked.

At precisely ten o’clock, Jinwoo turned the  _ closed _ sign to  _ open, _ and the three of them prepared to be very bored. Kyungsoo managed to look busy by straightening things on the shelves. Joohee was playing games on her phone and checking her watch compulsively. Jinwoo was manning the gift-wrap desk, because Kyungsoo wasn’t allowed near the scissors and Joohee was the fastest on the cash register.

Jinwoo had brought along his copy of  _ A Christmas Carol, _ because he hadn’t finished it the night before, and was leaning against the customer service desk, reading.

As soon as the door buzzer went off, he closed it over a piece of ribbon he was using as a bookmark and shoved it under the desk, straightened up with a smile.

Several harried-looking men and women headed straight for him. They were carrying large cameras and recorders. Were they reporters? Were they doing a story on the store? Jinwoo was supposed to direct all press inquiries to corporate headquarters, wasn’t he?

“Merry Christmas! How may I help you?” Jinwoo asked with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

“Are you Cha Eunwoo’s boyfriend?” one of the women demanded, thrusting a microphone at him.

Jinwoo stared at her.  _ “Pardon?” _

“Cha Eunwoo. Are you his boyfriend?” the woman asked again.

“No. I’ve never met him,” Jinwoo said. He was very confused.

The woman looked equally confused. She held out her phone, and on it was a picture of - Jinwoo helping Dongmin load presents into his car. And Jinwoo letting Dongmin borrow his hat and scarf. Some of the pictures the woman showed him were quite artful, tall Dongmin ducking his head so Jinwoo could put the scarf on him.

Jinwoo lifted a hand to his bare throat reflexively. Was this some kind of trick, an undercover audit from headquarters? Since he’d given away part of his uniform.

“Do you know this man?” the woman demanded.

“He was a customer I helped last night,” Jinwoo said slowly, still confused. Why had someone been taking pictures of him and Dongmin? Then he said, more quickly, “He was very sensitive to the cold, so I did give him my uniform hat and scarf, but - I can repay the cost of those out of my wages. I promise.”

The woman looked even more confused.

Jinwoo was incredibly nervous. “If you have any serious news questions, you’d have to speak to the PR team at corporate headquarters.”

The woman stared at him for a long moment, then tucked her phone back into her pocket. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“I’m not,” Jinwoo assured her, and attempted another smile. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“You  _ really _ don’t know what Cha Euwoo looks like?” one of the men asked.

“Really handsome, I guess? My mom says he is.” Jinwoo shrugged helplessly. “I don’t really watch dramas. I prefer movies.”

The reporters looked at each other, sighed, and left the store.

Jinwoo watched them go, still confused. Why would they think he was Cha Eunwoo’s boyfriend because of a misunderstood picture of him lending a hat and scarf to an innocent student-model named Dongmin? 

What  _ did _ Cha Eunwoo look like anyway?

Jinwoo dug his phone out of his pocket and typed in the man’s name.

He stared, floored, at the first image that popped up.

Dongmin.

Cha Eunwoo was just a stage name. His real name was Lee Dongmin.

No wonder the reporters had been asking those strange questions. Jinwoo was such an  _ idiot. _ He wanted to bang his head on the desk in frustration. Or let the ground open and swallow him. Dongmin must have thought he was a total idiot.

Only - only he hadn’t corrected Jinwoo, had he? When Jinwoo had assumed Cha Eunwoo was a friend and hadn’t recognized him.

The door buzzed. Jinwoo shoved his phone into his pocket and straightened up with a smile.

“Merry Christmas!”

Dongmin, looking adorable in a soft-knit sweater and blue jeans, headed toward him. “Merry Christmas, Jinwoo-ssi.”

“Dongmin-ssi,” Jinwoo said automatically, because despite what he knew now, the man he’d met last night was  _ Dongmin. _ Cha Eunwoo was - distant. A celebrity. A total stranger. “Shouldn’t you be at home with your family?”

“We’ve already opened our presents and celebrated,” Dongmin said. “I just -” He reached into the pocket of the heavy parka he had folded over one arm, and he held out Jinwoo’s uniform hat and scarf. “I was afraid you’d be cold without these.”

Jinwoo had been cold, but - “You didn’t have to bring these back today. I’d have been fine for another day.”

“But I did have to bring them back,” Dongmin said. “They’re yours. And - I wanted to ask. Would you go out on a date with me? Last night, I - you were very kind. And I liked that. I like you.”

Jinwoo accepted the hat and scarf. His heart was pounding. The man standing in front of him was a famous actor and model. What could he possibly see in an ordinary student like Jinwoo? Sure, Jinwoo had been extra helpful, but he’d been moved by Dongmin’s charitable spirit. For the orphans.

And then he thought, Dongmin’s fame - Cha Eunwoo’s fame - didn’t matter. Not really. Dongmin was a good person, and he was a kind person, and he was asking Jinwoo out on a date.

So Jinwoo smiled and said, “Sure. I’d love to go out with you.”

Dongmin smiled at him. “Thank you.”

“Merry Christmas.”

**Author's Note:**

> [@WannaBeYourEunwoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockianSyndromes/pseuds/WannaBeYourEunwoo) wrote me a lovely Christmas story, and she mentioned Eunwoo wasn't in it. I figured he'd be in the universe somewhere.


End file.
